Transcript Undergraduate Research Program at SUNY Geneseo

The Mother of Invention:
From Desperation to Collaboration
Christopher Leary
Colin Kremer
Rachel VanCott
Gregg Hartvigsen
SUNY Geneseo
Outline
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SUNY Geneseo
Where we were in 1998
Course Development
Research Developments
Grant Writing
Where we are now
Where do we want to go
6 January 2007
1
Outline
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SUNY Geneseo
Where we were in 1998
Course Development
Research Developments
Grant Writing
Where we are now
Where do we want to go
6 January 2007
2
SUNY Geneseo
• Public University
• Undergraduate
• Liberal Arts College—
5000 students
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SUNY Geneseo
• Public University
• Undergraduate
• Liberal Arts College—
5000 students
•Bright, well-motivated
students
•Strong tradition of
undergraduate research in
the sciences
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SUNY Geneseo
• Biology Department
• 15 Tenure-Track
Faculty
• 650 Undergraduate
Majors
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SUNY Geneseo
• Biology Department
• 15 Tenure-Track
Faculty
• 650 Undergraduate
Majors
•Mathematics Department
•15 Tenure-Track Faculty
•250 Undergraduate
Majors
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SUNY Geneseo
• Teaching Load
• “12 contact hours per
semester”
• 3 Courses
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Outline
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SUNY Geneseo
Where we were in 1998
Course Development
Research Developments
Grant Writing
Where we are now
Where do we want to go
6 January 2007
9
How not to educate biologists
• Calculus sequence
• Statistics offerings
• Modeling offerings
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The Importance of New Hires
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The Importance of New Hires
• Gregg Hartvigsen
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Outline
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SUNY Geneseo
Where we were in 1998
Course Development
Research Developments
Grant Writing
Where we are now
Where do we want to go
6 January 2007
13
Course Development
• Biological Data Analysis
• Statistics for biologists
• Taught in the biology department
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Course Development
• Modeling Biological Systems (300
level)
• First offered Spring 2000
• Every other spring basis
• Co-taught, counts as a full class
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Course Development
• Calculus II for Biologists
• First offered Spring 2002
• Taught every spring
• Lots more modeling (qualitative DiffEq,
PDE, Discrete Dynamical Systems)
• A solid five weeks of statistics
• No series/sequences, less on techniques
of integration
• Applications from biology--esp. ecology
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Meanwhile, back on the ranch
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Outline
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SUNY Geneseo
Where we were in 1998
Course Development
Research Developments
Grant Writing
Where we are now
Where do we want to go
6 January 2007
18
Research Developments
• Tony Macula
• Arkadii Dyachov
• Vyacheslav Rykov
• Grant support through Air Force
• Bioinformatics
• Lots of student research
• Tie in with Biochemistry
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Outline
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SUNY Geneseo
Where we were in 1998
Course Development
Research Developments
Grant Writing
Where we are now
Where do we want to go
6 January 2007
20
Grant Writing
• Late 2003
• Pilot Grant for the UBM project through
NSF
• Tony, Gregg funded for the summer
2004 along with several students
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Grant Writing
• Early 2004
• Full-Fledged UBM grant written
• Macula, Hartvigsen, Pogozelski, Leary
• “Undergraduate Biomathematical
Research Career Initiative at SUNYGeneseo” (NSF 0436298)
• $806,000
• 2004–2009
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Goals of the Biomath Program
• Train undergraduates to perform
research at the intersection of
mathematics and biology
• Research Support for Undergraduates
• Curricular Changes
• Change in Climate
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Research Program
• Eighteen students conduct sponsored
research during both the academic
year and this summer
• Two major research groups
• Strong recruitment efforts during the
year
• Focus on bringing 1st and 2nd year
students into the program
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Research Program
• DNA hybridization kinetics
• Tony Macula (Mathematics)
• Wendy Pogozelski (Biochemistry)
• Ecological/Epidemiological Modeling
• Gregg Hartvigsen (Biology)
• CL (Mathematics)
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Research Program
• Small meetings/conferences
• Conversations on Biomolecular
Computing-DNA Word Design (March
2005)
• Biomathematical Explorations (June
2005)
• Jonathan Dushoff
• Ben Bolker
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Research Program
• Student travel support
• Hudson River Undergrad Math Conf
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Research Program
• Student travel support
• Hudson River Undergrad Math Conf
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Research Program
• Student travel support
• SMB/ECMTB
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Research Program
• Student travel support
• Joint Mathematics Meetings
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Curricular Changes
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Curricular Changes
• Grant-supported changes
• One course per semester dedicated to
the grant
• Modeling Biological Systems offered
every year
• Computational Molecular Biology
• Introduction to Nucleic Acids
• Biomathematics Seminar (semi-required)
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Curricular Changes
• Expansion by Absence
• Other faculty members are brought into
the program by teaching the crossdisciplinary courses
• Use of the Slush Fund
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Outline
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SUNY Geneseo
Where we were in 1998
Course Development
Research Developments
Grant Writing
Where we are now
Where do we want to go
6 January 2007
34
Where we are now
• Both MBS and CalcII for Biologists
are well-established parts of the
curriculum
• Active research group in
biomathematics
• More active collaboration among the
departments
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Outline
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SUNY Geneseo
Where we were in 1998
Course Development
Research Developments
Grant Writing
Where we are now
Where do we want to go
6 January 2007
36
Where do we want to go
• Statistics offerings need improving
• New 200-level Data Analysis Course
• The importance of new hires
• Broaden support of interdisciplinary
work
• Bring more people into the mix
• Think about ways to continue the
funding
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Where do we want to go
• Consider a Biomath track in the Math
Department, or an interdisciplinary
program
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The Law of Unintended
Consequences
• The Integrated Science Center
• New facilities
• New equipment
• More biology majors
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Lessons we have learned
• Time is of the essence
• Faculty time
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Lessons we have learned
• Time is of the essence
• Faculty time
• Student time
• They are undergraduates
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Lessons we have learned
• The importance of the right people
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Lessons we have learned
• We have to work together
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Lessons we have learned
• It has been worth it.
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Thanks
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NSF
Geneseo Foundation
My colleagues
My students
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